World Championships 2021 postponed to November-December, to be held in Carolina Marin Stadium

he Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Friday that the World Championships in 2021 is being moved from August to later in the year. The prestigious tournament is now scheduled to be held from November 29 to December 5 at the Carolina Marin Stadium in Huelva, Spain.

The World Championships was scheduled to be held in August but it has now been postponed due to the delay in the Tokyo Olympics. The Games were postponed to 2021 due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has had a massive impact on the global sporting calendar.

Notably, India’s PV Sindhu will be defending her title in Huelva in 2021.

“The Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Spanish Badminton Federation (FESBA) can confirm the BWF World Championships traditionally scheduled for August 2021 will now take place at the end of 2021 from Monday 29 November to Sunday 5 December,” BWF said in a statement on Friday.

“The move will allow the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain to shine brightly in what will be a condensed sports calendar.

“The decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to 23 July to 8 August and 24 August until 5 September 2021 only confirmed this move.”

The new schedule will allow players to have a clear focus for 2021 in which they will have dual objectives of both the Olympic Games and World Championships, according to the BWF.

‘World Championships in Huelva will be a special occasion’

BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer said changing the BWF World Championships to late November was in the best interests of the sport.

“BWF and Spanish Badminton Federation are confident that the rescheduled championships will be a success. The move allows both the Olympic badminton competition and the World Championships to be conducted with equal fairness for everyone,” Hoyer said.

FESBA President David Cabello added: “We hope the World Championships in Huelva will be a special occasion for badminton in Spain and the world.

“We are satisfied that moving the championships to the end of the year will allow us to deliver the best tournament possible.”

The BWF also said an announcement about the qualification process for the Olympic and the Paralympic Games and the World Championships will be made at a later date.

Source: indiatoday